Richland 2 asks SC Supreme Court to block enforcement of law banning mask mandates

The Richland 2 school district is asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to block enforcement of a state law that bans school districts from requiring masks in classrooms.

“South Carolina is in a state of public health emergency, as evidenced by the requirements that citizens must wear a face covering to enter a courthouse in the State,” said the filing, which asserts that masks are an effective means of preventing the spread of COVID-19, a highly contagious respiratory virus.

The filing, which was made directly to the Supreme Court, questions whether the law that bans public schools from requiring masks is constitutional and seeks a ruling from the court. It also says the school district’s “number one priority is assuring the safety of their students.”

In any case, an immediate injunction that would allow local school boards to impose mask requirements is necessary to “prevent imminent harm” and help stop “a preventable spread of potentially deadly illness among children and adults in South Carolina public schools,” the filing said.

“We are hopeful that the S.C. Supreme Court will grant our request... enabling our district to fulfill our most important obligation to our families — providing a safe and healthy learning environment for all students,” Richland 2 Superintendent Baron Davis said in a news release.

Those named as individuals who are required to respond to Richland 2’s legal action are state Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, who is president of the state Senate, and House Speaker Jay Lucas, Republican of Darlington.

Neither Peeler nor Lucas could be reached for immediate comment. The Supreme Court said they should file a response to Richland 2’s motion by Monday at noon.

Also targeted in Richland 2’s legal action was State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, whose spokesman released this statement: “Superintendent Spearman has been clear in her support for empowering South Carolina’s locally elected school leaders, with the input from parents and their communities, to make decisions impacting the health and well-being of the students they serve. We look forward to the Court bringing finality to this issue.”

The Richland 2 legal action, and the high court’s request for a speedy response to Peeler and Lucas, comes amid mounting cases of the highly contagious COVID-19 virus in South Carolina and in various “hot spots” around the nation. The rising number of cases include children, who are returning to public school this month.

The legal action mentions those rising COVID-19 cases, and the virus’s evolution into an even more dangerous delta variant. The action also cites public health authorities about the importance of masks to stop or slow down the transmission of the virus, which is spread in tiny particles in peoples’ breath.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health authorities have advised that wearing a mask is an extremely effective method of preventing the spread of illness without any risk or side effect to the wearer,” the legal action said.

On Friday, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, South Carolina surpassed 5,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time since January.

Of the 5,238 cases reported on Friday, at least 611 were children aged 10 and younger, DHEC said.

An affidavit accompanying Richland 2’s legal action by district superintendent Baron Davis said that the “current upswing of the COVID-19 virus is having a significant impact on our community, including our faculty, students and staff.”

As of last Monday, Davis wrote, 104 students have tested positive for the virus, nine students have COVID-19 symptoms and 215 have been quarantined. Nineteen students avoided being quarantined because they are fully vaccinated. (Children under 12 are not eligible for the vaccines.)

Also as of Monday, 33 employees have tested positive and 33 have been quarantined, Davis wrote. Eighty-nine employees have avoided quarantine because they are fully vaccinated.

In all, Richland 2 has 3,700 employees and 28,500 students in 40 Pre-K through high school facilities.

“We have capped our virtual enrollment at 5% and it has reached capacity. Richland 2 has waiting lists to enroll virtually at the elementary, middle and high school levels,” Davis wrote.

Those in favor of allowing colleges and local government and school boards to have the power to require masks got a recent win earlier this week when the state Supreme Court ruled that a separate, temporary law, termed a proviso, does not prevent the University of South Carolina from requiring masks in its classrooms. Attorney General Alan Wilson had written USC Interim President Harris Pastides, telling him he could not order students to wear masks under state law. But the Supreme Court ruled Wilson’s interpretation of the law was wrong.

“We believe masks keep our students and employees safe by reducing the spread of COVID-19,” Davis said. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and S.C. (Department of Health and Environmental Control) continue to identify this as a critical strategy in preventing the spread of COVID-19.”

Unlike neighboring Richland 1, Richland 2 has not passed a policy contradicting the mask proviso. But at a meeting earlier this week the school board authorized legal counsel to “provide the best option and legal strategy to address” the proviso, according to the news release.

Richland 2 referred to this as “life-saving legal action,” according to the news release. The delta variant, which experts believe is the dominant strain in the state, is more dangerous to children than previous strains. Richland 2 began classes Wednesday and reported 35 positive COVID-19 cases between Aug. 14-16.

On Thursday, state Attorney General Alan Wilson filed a lawsuit that asks the Supreme Court to rule on an emergency order passed by Columbia City Council that requires students in the city’s elementary and middle schools and day cares to wear masks. Besides Richland 1, the Charleston County school district also has passed a mask mandate.

Teresa Holmes, chair of the Richland 2 Board of Trustees, said in a release Friday afternoon, “There is truly nothing more important to the Board than the safety and welfare of those whom we are entrusted to serve as the elected leaders of our Premier school district. We are hopeful that the S.C. Supreme Court will provide us with the ability to fulfill our highest priority to our community.”

Richland 2 is joined in the case by an Orangeburg County parent, Malika Stokes, who has three children in public schools.

Richland 2 and Stokes are represented pro bono by Carl Solomon with the Solomon Law Group and Skyler Hutto with Williams & Williams, Attorneys at Law.

This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 11:40 AM.